Well, up until this post, the case for moving him East seemed to be focused on the fact that it would be better for him. Who cares about that, really? Does it help the Rockets? Until I see some stats fro something other than this season, I'm disinclined to regard it as anything other than a statistical quirk; For example , in the chron yesterday it said he apparently suffered a severley bruised tailbone vs. Minnesota last week. He also said that he didn't feel 100% (and had bad games vs. Dal & LAC) until the NO game. Likewise, I recall him having his fair share of good games vs. the West too. He annihalated Kobe in the 2nd laker game, and has had good games against Sacramento, Utha, Denver, IIRC. Similarly, unless the Rockets can replace his production against the West, (offensive and defensive, he is probably the best defender we have, a credible argument can be made for jackson though) I don't see any reason in moving him especially at his price. If you want to move somebody then move steve and give yourself flexibility. hotballa: Eric Snow can't hit from 3 point land, and so what if you don't care, but the Rockets do care, because those are the shots that are open when teams collapse around Yao. Defensively, fine, he may replace steve and be better than him, but then you replace Cat with Steve and at best its a wash. Eric Snow was allegedly on the market this season already; he apparently had no takers, and there's a reason for that.
This is kind of why I didn't think you had read the thread. I addressed this exact issue in my second post in the thread: First page, 13th post overall. It's funny that two posters now have interpeted this as me looking out for Cuttino's best interest, and not that of the Rockets. How in the world did anyone mistake me for pushing that cause? I posted career numbers as well: First page, first post. I don't think you can really chalk it up as a fluke. The sample size is pretty large and even -- 28 games vs. the East and 36 games vs. the West. I might agree with that ... for all I know Steve plays a different style game against West teams and that affects Mobley, and with a different backcourt mate Cat would be more efficient against the West (a stretch, but.... ) ...... but the numbers are certainly there to show that Cuttino's shooting game suffers vs. the West. If I'm not mistaken, his contract plays a large part in that... one of the reasons I'm a little hesitant to take him on also. I think he could be had for fairly cheap, if you're willing to take the contract. I think he'd be a pretty good player for this team though.
I 100% wholeheartedly agree with everything you just said, StupidMoniker. It seems a shame to penalize Mobley (in a way) for having so much success against the East, but struggling to shoot the ball against the West when Francis isn't really shooting well against either. But the thing is Francis is not shooting the ball well at all this year and has been consistent in that against both conferences. Most likely a mental or form/mechanical issue (I vote mental, but...). Mobley on the other hand hasn't been consistent. He certainly has his stroke working against the East teams, but his shooting is even worse than Francis vs. the West. 6% shooting difference is huge. Currently, as our second or third scoring option, Cuttino's offense is really the X-factor in the Rockets winning or losing (there are a lot of stats/numbers showing this), so he better get off the snide against the West if we want to do anything worth a hill of beans in April/May.
my fault, I didn't see the career numbers, I thought when I first read it yesterday they weren't in there but I guess I was wrong. also, I had just come back from a night of drinking before my second post in this thread....
Oh, sure. Blame it on the booze. Steve's numbers have been more worrisome this year than Cat's. The adjustment of playing for a coach who holds the reins tightly + trying to live up to the max contract? Thankfully he has played better lately, on average. I still am going to be one of those "why-pay-him-a-max-contract-to-be-a-Chauncey-Billups?" sort of fan. Actually, I can see why we might have pursued Chauncey (if not straight-up for Steve, of course). Our guards need to hit 3's and, perhaps, penetrate and draw contact. It's good to see the Rockets hopefully in the playoffs, and our guards have, for the most part, adjusted well to the more Yao-centric offense. But it's not quite good enough for the West, and so I wonder how the team will look next year without Cat and/or Steve.
i hate posters like you. What do you mean he is a star wanna be? the guy has more commercials than francis. He doesnt go begging the NBA for attention, they see that he is a good ball player, one of the greatest guys on and off the court, has a good sense of humor, and plays clean. He IS a star.. not a superstar of course, but he is well known and for damn sure respected on the court. Believe it or not.. teams fear his quick moves to the basket and accurate 3-point shooting. im disgusted by posters like you e
I think it is possible that the prevalence of zone defense against the Rox is what has caused the sharp decline in Francis's shooting. Since they are not likely to see less zone in the future (given its success against Yao, especially in comparison to straight up man), it is hardly a given that Francis will, or even can correct the problem. I certainly think it would be great if Cat performed as well against the West as he does against the East. Since it is such a weird circumstance, it will probably be hard to pinpoint what he can do to correct it, but if he (and the Rox) can figure it out, then it is possible he could bring his season averages in line with what he does against the East, making him one of the top second tier SGs in the NBA (with shooting numbers around the same averages as Redd and Allen).
So if we trade Mobley, do we trade him for a 2 or a 3? If we trade him for a 3, we have to put JJ at the 2, which wouldn't solve any of the Steve/Yao problems. (Assuming we don't land a Point-Forward). If we trade him for a 2, we're still small at the 3, and will need to find someone who is as good a shooter as Mobley AT LEAST.
What the Cat's FG percentage against Minnesota? That is probably the playoff stat that will matter the most. At least a breakdown of his shooting against playoff teams might be more accurate.
Cat vs Wolves (3 games) 11.7 points 33% fg 33% 3pt fg 4.0 assists 2.0 turnovers 4.7 rebounds 1.7 steals 1.0 blocks Cat vs Lakers (3 games) 13.7 points 37% fg 39% 3pt fg 6.0 assists 2.7 turnovers 4.7 rebounds 0.3 steals 0.3 blocks Cat vs Mavs (3 games) 12.7 points 28% fg 30% 3pt fg 1.7 assists 2.7 turnovers 5.3 rebounds 1.0 steals 0.3 blocks Cat vs Spurs (4 games) 12.3 points 46% fg 39% 3pt fg 3.8 assists 2.8 turnovers 5.3 rebounds 1.5 steals 0.3 blocks Cat vs Kings (2 games) 18.0 points 45% fg 31% 3pt fg 0.5 assists 3.0 turnovers 4.5 rebounds 1.5 steals 0.0 blocks Cat vs Grizzlies (2 games) 11.0 points 39% fg 38% 3pt fg 4.5 assists 2.0 turnovers 3.0 rebounds 1.5 steals 0.0 blocks Cat vs Nuggets (2 games) 19.0 points 40% fg 71% 3pt fg 3.5 assists 2.5 turnovers 6.0 rebounds 1.5 steals 0.5 blocks Cat vs Jazz (3 games) 19.7 points 55% fg 39% 3pt fg 3.0 assists 2.3 turnovers 3.3 rebounds 1.0 steals 0.7 blocks Cat vs Pacers (2 games) 8.0 points 23% fg 18% 3pt fg 4.0 assists 1.0 turnovers 4.0 rebounds 1.5 steals 1.0 blocks Cat vs Pistons (2 games) 11.0 points 32% fg 23% 3pt fg 1.0 assists 3.0 turnovers 1.5 rebounds 1.5 steals 1.0 blocks Cat vs Nets (2 games) 16.5 points 69% fg 57% 3pt fg 4.0 assists 4.0 turnovers 1.0 rebounds 1.5 steals 0.0 blocks
Clutch, quite a few things do not add up. First there are stats that show our OG position is a net positive position for us. Second here are the stats for Cat vs Spurs and Sac, this year: Against SA 4 4 40.0 .455fg 12.3pts Bowen Against SAC 2 2 37.5 .448fg .18.0pts Christie As far as I am concerned this is cat's most challenging matchup in the west and in those six games that the team has lost, I think, he has shot 45% and averaged about 15 pts.
Sam, If Eric Snow can't hit from 3 point land, its fine with me as long as he can knock down the 18-20 ft jumper, because when Yao gets doubled in the low post, it doesn't ALWAYS have to be a kickout for the 3, they used to play without that shot you know. At least Snow knows his limitations, and recognizes whats best for the team, which is to make sure the game runs the way the Rox want it to run and not go chucking up r****ded shots. And though I have high regards for Mobleys skillz, no way is he equal to Steve, so I disagree with your opinion that its a wash. Steve's D can be lacking I agree, but I think its because his offense has been bad this year. I feel that SF is one of those guys whose D gets better when he is doing well on offense. Put it this way, I think a backcourt of Stevie and Snow would take us further into the playoffs than a backcourt of Cat and SF.
i agree, man everyone can see that if the rockets lost franchise to injury the rockets would suck, if they lost to mobley to injury the rockets will still be a playoff team i agree a backcourt of snow/francis would be good.
Since Cat joined the Rockets, they have been 5-17 (.227) in games he has missed. A .227 record won't even get you a playoff spot in the East. In fact a .227 record puts you in dead last. Maybe Mobley is more important than you think.
this maybe a coincidence but I don't see any reason why we should move him to an East team... or to any other team at all. We want to benift the team right? Not the individual...
Mobley might play better against the East simply because the East isn't that good compared to the West. He has to be more of a defensive stopper in the West when playing against guys like Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Michael Finley, Latrell Sprewell, players like that. But, against the East, he simply has to score since the East isn't nearly as deep or athletic as the West. I don't buy into the "Mobley is an Eastern Conference player", because I've seen things like that backfire. I think this is coincidence myself though.
Very interesting thread. I think some people are really overlooking the imporant part of it. This isn't an insult to Cuttino - it's just that his value to an Eastern team might be greater than it is to us. Therefore, they might be able to part with something more than Cuttino's actual value to us. Pretty simple. I'm very intrigued by what could be causing this. It's tempting to just say that the West has better players... but I wonder why it's affected JJ and Francis less. Those splits are too severe to just be an anomaly, I think. Could it possible be a matter of size? It seems that the small, quick SG is more popular in the East than the West. The West has a lot of 6'5-6'7 guys at SG. Cat's going to wear down against those guys and have trouble getting his shot... especially when a shotblocker's lurking in the paint.
